You hear it all the time, technology will kill the trucking industry.
We know that robo-truckers are supposed to show up with their drone-powered rigs and shut down the whole transportation field.
Until the Terminator has as much intuition as a veteran trucker, we’re not gonna lose sleep over it.
But what new technologies are being developed to help truckers?
From heartbeats to healthy sleep, we’re looking at 5 new and helpful technologies headed your way.
Seats That Monitor You
You spend most of your day planted in the seat of your truck—it’s the perfect way to monitor everything from your heart health to your alertness.
With increased monitoring, companies are hoping to create more awareness and prevent dangerous heart attacks from taking down truckers.
The seat could even alert a driver to pull over and await an ambulance’s arrival!
A Steering Wheel and Gearshift That Feel You
With your hands strapped across the wheel, you know you’re in control of your rig. But are you in control of your health?
With biometric telemetry built directly into the hands-on parts of the truck, it will be easy to track health stats with your steering wheel or gearshift.
Imagine the possibilities when it comes to monitoring health this way—in every vehicle, drivers can be alerted if they’re above the drinking limit, if their diabetes is affecting their blood sugar, or if their blood pressure is dangerously high.
Your Mobile Tech Will Help
As phones continue to improve in speed and quality, we are going to see more mobile health advancements.
Mobile technology doesn’t just mean smartphones either! Smartwatches, fitness bands, and mobile monitoring devices will continue to improve and diversify into health and wellness.
Cameras Watching out for You
Nothing is more helpful in an accident than a good dash cam. But dash cams may just be the start. Mitsubishi is developing technology that will analyze truck movement, the driver’s expression, and heart rate to monitor fatigue and general health conditions.
Cameras are a touchy subject, though, because nobody wants their privacy invaded. Especially truckers—so this will be a growing technology to watch.
Improved Sleep with Better Devices
Sleeping makes the difference between a slow motion driver and lightning fast trucker! We’ve given out sleep advice before, but advice isn’t going to help you if you have sleep apnea.
Advancements in CPAP machines will not only increase their portability, but they can also record the quality, duration, and patterns of sleep. That would open the door to better predictions for drowsy driving.
As far as technologies that will help you, we only know so much of what the future will bring. What we know now is that the HVUT e-filing from ExpressTruckTax is technology that works for you now!